Which Way, L.A.?
LA's Power Outage and Potential Disaster
Mayor Villaraigosa says Los Angeles "is prepared" to handle a blackout, but it took an hour just to determine what yesterday's outage was all about and another half-hour to restore the power. Meantime, two million people were stalled on streets and commuter trains or stuck in elevators and darkened buildings--all because maintenance workers made a mistake. The limitations of LA's Department of Water and Power raise fears about future disasters and bring back memories of California's energy crisis. What if it really had been a terror attack or an earthquake? We explore LA's vulnerability with the general manager of the DWP, a spokesperson for the LA County Office of Emergency Management, an expert in economics and public policy, and a councilman who got caught in yesterday's traffic congestion.
By Warren Olney • • 30m ListenMayor Villaraigosa says Los Angeles "is prepared" to handle a blackout, but it took an hour just to determine what yesterday's outage was all about and another half-hour to restore the power. Meantime, two million people were stalled on streets and commuter trains or stuck in elevators and darkened buildings--all because maintenance workers made a mistake. The limitations of LA's Department of Water and Power raise fears about future disasters and bring back memories of California's energy crisis. What if it really had been a terror attack or an earthquake? We explore LA's vulnerability with the general manager of the DWP, a spokesperson for the LA County Office of Emergency Management, an expert in economics and public policy, and a councilman who got caught in yesterday's traffic congestion.
LA DWP on yesterday's power outage
